Carl Pavano to start for New York Yankees on Saturday

TORONTO -- For all Carl Pavano has put the Yankees through the past three-plus seasons, if he can help them win down the stretch this year, (almost) all will be forgiven.

"Ironically enough, we've never needed him more than we do now," Alex Rodriguez said yesterday after the Yankees chose Pavano to start Saturday at Baltimore. "The time is now."

Johnny Damon saw Pavano last month in Tampa, Fla., when Damon was recovering from a sprained shoulder and Pavano was working his way back from elbow surgery.

"I think he'll be fine," Damon said. "His mind seemed to be right and focused. He knows this is a big month and a half for him. He knows he needs to prove, not only to us but to the rest of the baseball, that he's healthy and that he can still pitch in the big leagues."

It is a last shot at redemption for Pavano, whose four-year, $39.95 million Yankees contract has been one of the biggest busts ever.

"I don't think he looks at it like that," said Tom O'Connell, Pavano's agent. "At the end of the day, injuries are part of this game. I don't think he feels he needs to redeem anything. He was hurt."

Manager Joe Girardi said he expects Pavano to be accepted in the clubhouse despite a history of rifts, most notably with Mike Mussina.

"We need Carl to perform, and he's a Yankee," Girardi said. "I'm not worried about that. I think he'll be welcomed with open arms. I'm not asking him to make amends. I'm just asking him to come and compete."

Phil Hughes, currently at Triple A, was also under consideration, but Yankees management felt Pavano -- who has been in two big-league games in nearly 26 months -- was pitching better and Hughes needs more work on his command and his curveball.

Pavano, scheduled to join the team today in Baltimore, has been out all year after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery on June 5, 2007. He last pitched in the majors on April 9, 2007. (Since then, Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia have made 60 starts.)

And because of a series of ailments -- shoulder, lower back, bone chips in his elbow, broken ribs from a car accident -- Pavano didn't pitch from June 27, 2005 until Opening Day 2007.

The Yankees are scheduled to face the entire National League East in interleague play next season.

According to a major-league official who has seen the proposed 2009 schedule but asked not to be named because it is not yet finalized, the tentative schedule has the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals visiting the new Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees playing at the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins.

There are also, of course, home-and-home series with the Mets.

Joba Chamberlain threw 20 fastballs to a catcher on flat ground yesterday and is on track to throw a bullpen session tomorrow (30-35 pitches, fastballs and changeups).

"Hopefully I remember what the mound looks like," he said.

Chamberlain, recovering from what the team terms rotator-cuff tendinitis, could be back in the Yankees rotation in about two weeks. He hasn't pitched since coming out of his Aug. 4 start with a stiff shoulder.